What do we believe?
Bethesda United Presbyterian Church is a member of the PC(USA) denomination. We are part of the Reformed body of churches that grew out of the Reformation movement way back in the 1500's in Europe when Roman Catholicism was the main Christian branch of the Church.
Since the 1500's Presbyterianism has seen many changes in it's worship, beliefs, and identity. Presbyterians are not do-it-yourselfers. We make decisions as a community and it looks a lot like the way the New Testament Church made decisions as recorded in Acts 15:1-21. There was and still is a lot of dissension and debate. And because of that, making decisions as Presbyterians is often a slow process that takes a great deal of work. However, the end result usually yields wise judgments rooted in God's revelation and our best human reflection. Presbyterians rely on the Bible and the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for authority and guidance. The Bible is broken into two parts; the Old Testament and the New Testament, each part shares a story of the history of God with the people of God. The Constitution is also broken into two parts; the Book of Confessions, which currently contains 11 documents dating from the 4th century to the late 20th century, which give us the main theological themes our ancestors in the faith found central to Scripture, and the Book of Order, which gives us guidance for ordering our life as a community according to the Scriptures and the confessions. It sets out democratic principles of representative government and applies them to life in the church. Presbyterians stress the importance of a unified body of Christ. As church members, we do not choose to affiliate with each other because we like each other or agree with each other's views. We are one body because God has called us together in Jesus Christ (taken from the article What Presbyterians Believe by Jack Rodgers in the Third Edition: An introduction to all things Presbyterian printed by PresbyteriansToday.) This makes us a very diverse group of individuals, but it is also what makes us strong and somewhat unique among the Christian denominations. Although we have essential beliefs as a denomination, we believe that individuals are free to hold differing viewpoints as we challenge one another in our grounding of Scripture.
Here are some highlights of what we believe as Presbyterians:
* We believe in a Sovereign God.
* We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
* We believe in the work of the Holy Spirit, active in the world today.
* We believe in the written Word of God in the Old and New Testament Scriptures, as primary guide for our lives as Christians.
* We believe in the regular observance of two sacraments; Communion and Baptism.
* We believe in God's promises of forgiveness of sins, the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the reconciliation of persons through the Holy Spirit.
* We believe in the healing ministry of love and acceptance.
If you would like to learn more about what each of these mean in the daily lives of people who seek God's mercy and grace, join us on Sunday mornings as we explore these beliefs together.
Since the 1500's Presbyterianism has seen many changes in it's worship, beliefs, and identity. Presbyterians are not do-it-yourselfers. We make decisions as a community and it looks a lot like the way the New Testament Church made decisions as recorded in Acts 15:1-21. There was and still is a lot of dissension and debate. And because of that, making decisions as Presbyterians is often a slow process that takes a great deal of work. However, the end result usually yields wise judgments rooted in God's revelation and our best human reflection. Presbyterians rely on the Bible and the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for authority and guidance. The Bible is broken into two parts; the Old Testament and the New Testament, each part shares a story of the history of God with the people of God. The Constitution is also broken into two parts; the Book of Confessions, which currently contains 11 documents dating from the 4th century to the late 20th century, which give us the main theological themes our ancestors in the faith found central to Scripture, and the Book of Order, which gives us guidance for ordering our life as a community according to the Scriptures and the confessions. It sets out democratic principles of representative government and applies them to life in the church. Presbyterians stress the importance of a unified body of Christ. As church members, we do not choose to affiliate with each other because we like each other or agree with each other's views. We are one body because God has called us together in Jesus Christ (taken from the article What Presbyterians Believe by Jack Rodgers in the Third Edition: An introduction to all things Presbyterian printed by PresbyteriansToday.) This makes us a very diverse group of individuals, but it is also what makes us strong and somewhat unique among the Christian denominations. Although we have essential beliefs as a denomination, we believe that individuals are free to hold differing viewpoints as we challenge one another in our grounding of Scripture.
Here are some highlights of what we believe as Presbyterians:
* We believe in a Sovereign God.
* We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
* We believe in the work of the Holy Spirit, active in the world today.
* We believe in the written Word of God in the Old and New Testament Scriptures, as primary guide for our lives as Christians.
* We believe in the regular observance of two sacraments; Communion and Baptism.
* We believe in God's promises of forgiveness of sins, the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the reconciliation of persons through the Holy Spirit.
* We believe in the healing ministry of love and acceptance.
If you would like to learn more about what each of these mean in the daily lives of people who seek God's mercy and grace, join us on Sunday mornings as we explore these beliefs together.